Objective: To investigate the targets and mechanisms of action of Qingkailing injection (，QKL) in the treatment of cholestatic hepatitis.
Methods: A network pharmacology method was implemented using drug and disease databases to target QKL and cholestasis hepatitis, respectively. The functional protein association network STRING database was used to construct a protein-protein interaction network using R language and the Bioconductor toolkit. The org.Hs.eg.db and clusterProfiler packages were used for gene ontology and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes pathway enrichment analysis, which explored biological functions and pathways of potential targets. Targets were then visualized using Cytoscape 3.6.0 software.
Results: We screened 121 compounds in QKL and identified 112 targets for the treatment of cholestatic hepatitis. QKL played a role in the treatment of cholestatic hepatitis through 305 biology process terms, 15 cellular component and 29 molecular function terms. The mechanism of QKL action was mainly related to tumor necrosis factor, mitogen-activated protein kinase, and PI3K-Akt signaling pathways.
Conclusion: The treatment of cholestatic hepatitis by QKL involved multiple targets, biological functions, and signaling pathways that are closely associated with the disease.
Keywords: Cholestatic hepatiti; Qingkailing injection; pharmacology; protein interaction map.